The Dorchester Collection is a group of some of the best hotels – and hotel bars – in the world. For 2017, bartenders from its destinations around the globe have got their creative juices flowing to dream up an array of tempting new speciality cocktails.
In London, The Dorchester has delved into history for the inspiration behind its new offering, the Martinez. The precursor to its more famous offspring, the Martini, it was first listed in the seminal 1884 book The Modern Bartenders' Guide by OH Byron. Here, the drink, which contains a mix of gin, maraschino, vermouth and bitters, has been revived by bar manager Giuliano Morandin, and even contains his own bespoke gin.
Just a few steps down the road at Bar 45, head bartender Maurizio Palermo has looked to the other side of the Atlantic for inspiration. His cocktail, The Pepper-Tin, uses a trio of classic American ingredients – Vermont maple-infused peppercorn, mint leaves and rye whiskey – together with a touch of ginger ale, to create a refreshing tipple served over ice. Meanwhile, Ascot's Coworth Park has taken inspiration from its quintessentially English countryside surroundings for the Marmalade Martini, shaken with a spoonful of the sweet preserve.
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Destinations on the continent have produced equally creative combinations. Bar director William Oliveri at Le Meurice in Paris has come up with a champagne-based concoction with fruity notes of pear, lychee and raspberry, and takes its name from the hotel's chic Bar 228. Also in the French capital is the Hotel Plaza Athenee, which has drawn on the city's famed couturiers for the idea behind The Red Dress, a sweet mix of vodka, raspberry, cranberry and pineapple topped with cherry candy.
Le Richmond in Geneva has mined its Swiss surrounds for inspiration for its new cocktails, in which the fresh flavour of pears is brought through with Liqueur de Williamine. A bolder approach is taken at the Hotel Principe di Savoia in Milan, with a cocktail that reflects the hotel's signature colour – blue – through curacao shaken with maraschino liqueur and strained into sparkling wine. The wow factor is also on the menu at Rome's Hotel Eden, which has paid homage to the Italian tradition of the aperitivo hour with a vibrant, yellow-hued cocktail designed to evoke the sunset over the Eternal City.
